Manufacturer moving its home base to Ocala

Published: Friday, October 18, 2013 at 11:27 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 18, 2013 at 4:55 p.m.

A manufacturer of machined plastics and assembler of medical components is planning to create new jobs as it moves its corporate headquarters to Ocala from Waukesha, Wis., the company said Friday.

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On the Web

ProFab Plastics: http://www.profabplastics.net/

Keith Hoffmann, ProFab president and CEO, said the firm hopes to create some 60 jobs within 12 to 18 months, with 25 to 35 of those positions to be added within three months. Hoffmann said the company has hired 12 local employees in the past two months.

"I'm moving corporate and everything else down here, so I'm running the business completely out of Florida from now on," Hoffman said in a phone interview. "I might use Waukesha as a sub-outlet or I might close it. I haven't quite decided yet. I just want to run the business down here.

"Since 2007 I've been flying back and forth every other week and I just don't want to do it anymore," he said.

ProFab has two facilities: 40,000 square feet at 1056 NE 16th St. and 30,000 square feet at 4901 NW Fifth St. The headquarters will be housed in the Northeast 16th Street building. The company headquarters had been in Waukesha, where the company has an 18,000-square-foot operation.

Of the office staff relocating from Waukesha, five have already moved and the remaining seven are expected by January, Hoffmann said.

Among the workers ProFab seeks are computer numerical control machinists, according to Hoffman.

"In Wisconsin we used to run three shifts, so I want to have a third shift down here also," he said.

Hoffmann was quoted in a ProFab press release saying the investments the company's made in Ocala in the last six months "are in the millions of dollars."

ProFab's core business is serving the medical industry, but it is looking to expand to any sector that can used machined plastics, Hoffmann said.

"We're an expanding company," he said. "Our gross sales have gone up like 25 percent in the last 12 months."

The economic downturn's impact on Marion County, particularly its manufacturing sector, has been "a window of opportunity" for ProFab, according to Hoffmann, who said his company has hired workers let go by Merillat and Elster AMCO, among other firms.

"We're getting a lot of quality people and hope to get a lot more quality people and be here for a long time," he said.

Kevin Sheilley, president and CEO of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership, said ProFab's move continues a trend this year of firms moving their headquarters or major operations to Marion County, including Ansafone, Krausz Industries and R+L Carriers Inc.

"It's really building the quality and the types of jobs that we need here to complement the other things going on," said Sheilley, who added the CEP did not have a hand in ProFab's move.

"It's always good when a company's decision-makers are here and I think it says a lot about the community that a company that started doing business here says ‘This is such a great community, we want to base everything there,' " Sheilley said.

<p>A manufacturer of machined plastics and assembler of medical components is planning to create new jobs as it moves its corporate headquarters to Ocala from Waukesha, Wis., the company said Friday.</p><p>Keith Hoffmann, ProFab president and CEO, said the firm hopes to create some 60 jobs within 12 to 18 months, with 25 to 35 of those positions to be added within three months. Hoffmann said the company has hired 12 local employees in the past two months.</p><p>"I'm moving corporate and everything else down here, so I'm running the business completely out of Florida from now on," Hoffman said in a phone interview. "I might use Waukesha as a sub-outlet or I might close it. I haven't quite decided yet. I just want to run the business down here.</p><p>"Since 2007 I've been flying back and forth every other week and I just don't want to do it anymore," he said.</p><p>ProFab has two facilities: 40,000 square feet at 1056 NE 16th St. and 30,000 square feet at 4901 NW Fifth St. The headquarters will be housed in the Northeast 16th Street building. The company headquarters had been in Waukesha, where the company has an 18,000-square-foot operation.</p><p>Of the office staff relocating from Waukesha, five have already moved and the remaining seven are expected by January, Hoffmann said.</p><p>Among the workers ProFab seeks are computer numerical control machinists, according to Hoffman.</p><p>"In Wisconsin we used to run three shifts, so I want to have a third shift down here also," he said.</p><p>Hoffmann was quoted in a ProFab press release saying the investments the company's made in Ocala in the last six months "are in the millions of dollars."</p><p>ProFab's core business is serving the medical industry, but it is looking to expand to any sector that can used machined plastics, Hoffmann said.</p><p>"We're an expanding company," he said. "Our gross sales have gone up like 25 percent in the last 12 months."</p><p>The economic downturn's impact on Marion County, particularly its manufacturing sector, has been "a window of opportunity" for ProFab, according to Hoffmann, who said his company has hired workers let go by Merillat and Elster AMCO, among other firms.</p><p>"We're getting a lot of quality people and hope to get a lot more quality people and be here for a long time," he said.</p><p>Kevin Sheilley, president and CEO of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership, said ProFab's move continues a trend this year of firms moving their headquarters or major operations to Marion County, including Ansafone, Krausz Industries and R+L Carriers Inc.</p><p>"It's really building the quality and the types of jobs that we need here to complement the other things going on," said Sheilley, who added the CEP did not have a hand in ProFab's move.</p><p>"It's always good when a company's decision-makers are here and I think it says a lot about the community that a company that started doing business here says 'This is such a great community, we want to base everything there,' " Sheilley said.</p>